Education Matters

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
471593822
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Richmond, CA, USA
Phone
9252248269
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,505,842
Expenses
$2,431,359
Assets
$44,434,960
Liabilities
$170,647

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEPHEN W CHAMBERLIN (PRESIDENT)
  • STEFANIE PHILLIPS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEFANIE PHILLIPS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $365,969 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTINE CASTILLO (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $297,843 total reported compensation
  • NICOLAS ROMANO (DIRECTOR, LEASING & DEVELOPMENT): $293,623 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To work side by side with the richmond and west contra costa community to demand leadership and provide educational opportunities our children deserve. An informed, engaged and organized community will lead us to an excellent education for every child in every neighborhood. Education matters helps to provide the information facilities and tools that enable the community to come together and say with a clear, unified voice, "every child must have the opportunity to excel, and we cannot wait any longer for change."

What it reported doing in 2020

Facilitated and provided real estate support services to public schools operating under charter from state or local government authorities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 86% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 52
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.5%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 18.28; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -11.9% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.9% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.5% of revenue deployed · 88.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $366K · 10 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2015 to 2020
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.